bootcamp publication small final version.pdf

8/18/2019 Bootcamp publication small final version.pdf

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Contents

Horoscopes2

Unravelling knots3

Shoes & the city4

The skin cape6

Ever-hot fake fur8

Hats10King Tut’s headscarf12

The beauty patch14

Divine nuptials à la Chinoise16

Accessory to Murder18

Woolly warmth for wee ones20

Wrapped with textiles22

Isodikes’ loom weight24

The “Festival du Lin” – in Italy too26

“Abaca”28

CTR Fashion30

CTR Christmas Cards32

Print:

Grask, Universityof Copenhagen

Copy editor:Cherine Munkholt

Layout:Sidsel Frisch

ISBN: 978-87-998798-1-6

www.ctr.hum.ku.dk


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SIDSEL FRISCH

1

The realm of textiles provides fascinating possibilitiesof storytelling through a framework of interwoven

disciplines. As objects are crafted, travel, and interact

with people, they establish narratives and acquire

a life of their own. Different settings bring different

stories: Red, high-heeled shoes walking on the cobbled

streets of 17th-century Copenhagen; fake fur in

prehistoric Denmark; fashionable headwear from the

elite of Pharaonic Egypt and pre-Columbian America;clothing pins as murder weapons in Ancient Greece.

These are just some of the many small stories you will

find on the pages of this magazine. For each author,

interdisciplinary research and collaboration with

colleagues and museums are mantras that help them

explore the multiple stories of their objects. Creating

a patchwork of ideas and narratives, the network of

scholars at the Danish National Research Foundation’s

Centre for Textile Research provides you, the reader,

with quick guides to the latest fashion trends of the

millennia as well as to language, literature and life in

general. We hope this magazine will also demonstrate

the rich potential of textiles studies.

Editorial

ULLA MANNERING


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2 HOROSCOPES

Horoscopes

Taurus April 20- May 20

For bulls, problems ahead, so wear a thick skin. Alternatively, we recommend a felted overcoat

or fake fur. Avoid red cloaks!

AriesMarch 21 - April 19

Shearing season is coming up for rams, so be prepared for men with scissors!

GeminiMay 21 - June 20

Try something new: don’t wear similar clothes and no matching socks.

Cancer June 21 - July 22

Don’t be crabby, wear bright colours.

Leo July 23 - August 22

For lions, lamb’s wool is especially becoming.

Virgo

August 23 - September 22 Wear nothing but Chanel No. 5

LibraSeptember 23 - October 22

Balance well on your high red heels.

ScorpioOctober 23 - November 21

You’re deadly fashionable until Friday 13th!

CapricornDecember 22 - January 19

Be ambitious: avoid synthetic fibres this month.

Aquarius Junary 20 - February 18

No underwear this month! Wear a bikini.

PiscesFebruary 19 - March 20

A herringbone pattern will improve your health.

SagittariusNovember 22 - December 21 Aim for a piercing look: put a bow in your hair!


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Unravelling knots

Doctor WoollyDear Dr WooleyI am a single lady of a certain age, a spinster in the

eyes of some. My last lover disappeared behind the Iron

Curtain in the 1970s. But now I have met a young man,

only half my age. He is actually the grand-son on the

spindle side of my neighbor. My neighbor finds this love

quite inappropriate. She has a habit of being ruthlessly

vindictive and allows her personal grudges to warp her

perspective. When we talk, she always twists my words.

I therefore chose to present the young man as my

nephew since I come from a close-knit family. Moreover,

I have made my young lover believe that I am much

younger than I really am, and my neighbor says I behave

as mutton dressed as lamb. To wind this up, I really

haven’t got a clew about how to unravel this web of lies.

Dear Miss NeedleLove has no age and can come at any time. You

have clearly set your cap at him. But before I go on

embroidering further in this direction, I wonder

about your neighbor, that old hat: could it be that

her attitude is no more than a cloak surroundingher real motivation, which is jealousy? Don’t accept

her twisted view on your life. Even dyed-in-the-wool

traditionalists like your neighbor must accept your

love, and if she is truly your friend, then why does she

leave you to twist in the wind? I hope you will succeed

in weaving this young new love into the fabric of your

family. The scandal will eventually wind down.

expert on love and finances

Dear Dr Wooley

This year my father passed away. He was always

considered a real stufed shirt but in the family we

always knew that he wore his heart on his sleeve. Even

when he was angry, he knew how to keep his shirt on

and always stayed calm.

Not so my younger brother. He has a bad habit. Money

quickly burns a hole in his pocket and he never accepts

tightening his belt. He is restless and nervous, he has

ants in his pants. Whenever my dad gave him some

money, my brother would spend it at the drop of a hat.

He now sits on my father’s fortune and will not let me

inherit my share.

Should I put on my thinking cap, or throw my hat into

the ring?

Dear Mrs Turncoat

I really take my hat of to your patience. Alas, I believe you must roll up your sleeves and prepare for a

conflict. Why do you handle him with kid gloves? As

we say, a stitch in time saves nine. If not, you may be

caught with your pants down, so to say.

Your brother is clearly too big for his boots and he

thinks he is more important than he really is. You

can bet your boots that he will never change. Show

him who wears the pants in the family, and keep a

few strategically useful cards up your sleeve. But

remember to keep it a secret: keep it under your hat!

MARIE-LOUISE BECH NOSCH

Director, DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research,

University of Copenhagen.Historian specialised in Aegean epigraphy and

Mycenaean textile production.

Q&A’S 3


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4 SHOES

SHOESa nd t

h e c i t y

Feet fashion in 17 th -century Copenhagen A quick guide to everyday footwear

Suede shoes of calf or cow skin are a must!

High heels will make you taller, express wealth AND flatter your legs.

It is crucial that shoes are slender, perfect straights. You will get bunions,hammertoes, drop foot and suffer from flat footedness. However, don´t let

functionalities dictate your style. Identity and vanity matter more to get by in the

city. Comfort is so medieval.

If you are the practical type, know that this design is quite sustainable.

High-heeled and welted shoes last longer than the old, flat turn shoes.

The stacked heel is super easy to repair and maintain. The overall design

even allows others to reuse the shoes. Style with shiny buckles, coloured ribbons

and silk or wool stockings.

In contrast to brown suede, behold the eye-catching red on the heel and edge

of the soles. Seen before, but now a MEGAtrend sparked by King Louis XIV of

France. So hot he commanded no one else to wear the same! Only for men? Think

again. Women and children have adopted the style and no need to

be noble to flash the elitist look in CPH.

DIY budget shoe hacksLow on cash? Buy a used pair on the

2nd hand market and cut of the quar-

ters and tongue. Voilà! You now have

“new” slippers. The clever welted

design and the stacked heel allow you

to repair it again and again and keep

you going for miles and miles.

Photo: Mia Toftdal

Available at localshoemakers or

at the market onGammel Torv


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SHOES 5

Can you walk the urban walk?Narrow, symmetrical, high-heeled shoes are shapewear for your

feet, calves, thighs and buttocks. Hot! Cobblestones and high

heels will challenge you, but you´ll be the ruler of the

capital in these. Watch out for street gutters!

Suede you know… Photo: Mia Toftdal

VIVI LENA ANDERSEN

Museum curator with an MA in Prehistoric Archaeology.

Industrial PhD fellow at the University of Copenhagen,

Saxo Institute and the DNRF´s Centre for Textile Research, and

Museum of Copenhagen. Areas of interests are footwear, feet,leather, garbage, urban- and historical archaeology and the magic of

interdisciplinarity.

Fifty shades of redFlaming, seductive, powerful, bloody and fearsome. Get the

noble and French look of Louis XIV and flash the many

nuances and intensities of red painted on the

heels and soles of your shoes. Très chic for

both men, women and children of all

classes. Photo: Mia Toftdal

Strut your stuff and money!The marked impracticality of this high heel helps

to declare your privilege and born rights as do the

heavily embroidered suede, red heel and sole, and

high, flared vamp. Add a huge ribbon for lacing and

attention. Dazzling! Remember to discard before

they get worn. Photo: Vivi Lena Andersen. Taken at The Bata Shoe

Museum.


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6 T I T LE

The skin cape was an essential clothing element in the

early Iron Age (500 BC – AD 200) and was worn by both

genders. Today, ancient animal skin products are a

invaluable source of information on prehistoric animal

exploitation and skin technologies. The species of the

skin used had implications for the product’s strength,

flexibility, and appearance. Species identification is,therefore, essential for the understanding of choices

of skin. The cape from Baunsø is made of goatskin.

This was, however, not a simple conclusion to reach.

Microscopy of the degraded hairs from the cape

determined it as horse and cattle respectively. An

analysis of the proteins, however, demonstrated that

it was made of goatskin. Goatskin is a strong but

also flexible material excellent for garments. This is

probably the reason why it was chosen for this cape.

The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that people north

of the Roman border wore clothes of wild animals. This

study demonstrates the opposite - that also skins from

domesticated animas were used for clothing.

The skin capeAn Iron Age essential

Wall painting from the tomb of Rekhmire in Thebesdemonstrating animal skin processing.

Egypt. ca. 1504-1425 BC.

Proteins are extracted fromsmall samples of skin in the laboratory.

This analysis provided extremely good

protein sequences that matched previously

published goat proteins.


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LUISE ØRSTED BRANDT

DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research and

Center for GeoGenetics. She is a prehistoric archaeologist from the

University of Copenhagen with a PhD in archaeological science. Herresearch has focused on ancient DNA and ancient proteins from

archaeological textiles and animal skins.

ESSENT IALS 7

Skin Cape found in the Danish bog Baunsø (NM D11103a) dated to AD 20–220. The coloured lines indicate theseams joining skin elements composing each garment. The stripes in the middle of the skins demonstrate that

they are from the back of the animals. At the minimum 4 large animal skins were used for the cape, which must

have made it of great value as some capes are heavily repaired.

Degraded ancient hair from thecape. Species identification of ancient hairs

is difficult as they are often degraded, and

because the reference materials of modern

hairs may not correspond to hairs from

ancient animals bred and raised under

diferent circumstances.


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8 HEADWEAR

Ever-hot

FAKE FURFake fur is the ultimate sign of humankind improving on nature.

In the Danish Bronze Age (1700-500 BC) people made clothing of animal

skins. High-ranking males who enjoyed showing off in their fake fur

hats and their furry warrior cloaks must have made a breathtaking

sight.

The rounded hats are made of pieces of wool cloth sewn together in

several layers. On the surface is placed a dense pile of 1-2 cm long

cords. The cords are very thin compared to other Bronze Age textiles.

Each cord has several knots along its length and altogether this gives

the hats a fantastic fur-like appearance.

It would have taken a long time to make such a hat. They represent the

ultimate in textile craft. When not used, the hats were kept in special

boxes, and when their owner died they were part of the precious grave

goods. That is why we are so lucky to know about this exquisite aspect

of the Scandinavian Bronze Age lifestyle.

The piled hat belongedto a Bronze Age warrior, the

Muldbjerg Man, who was

buried in a large artificially

built mound in western

Jutland in Denmark. The

man died in the year 1365 BC

(© The National Museum

of Denmark).


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ULLA MANNERING

Is an archaeologist working at the National Museum of Denmark

as a Senior Researcher in Ancient Cultures of Denmark and theMediterranean. She is specialized in North European prehistoric

textile production and clothing traditions.

HEADWEAR 9

The piled cloak belongedto a Bronze Age warrior,

the Trindhøj Man.

The cloak has a pile of 3-6

cm long wool threads

(© The National Museum

of Denmark).

The Trindhøj Man was buried in an oak coffin in the

year 1347 BC. He was clad in his piled cloak and hat. In ahat box lay another more simple hat without pile (©The

National Museum of Denmark).


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10 HEADWEAR

The unique hat trend this year will be large, colorful hats, adorned with hand-woven

textiles and colorful plumage, inspired by the hats of the pre-Columbian coastal jetset

anno 1200AD!Back then these exquisite hats were worn only by men of high society, but

in fall 2015 they will be absolutely transgender,

and will definitely be present on the red carpets

of Cannes, Berlin, Los Angeles and at the mostglamorous parties in London, New York and

Paris.

Yellow and red Ara

feathers over an art

nouveau inspired alpacatapestry turban.Peru, south coast, 1000-

1400 AD.

Join the avantgarde +order your personallydesigned 2015 hat! www.ctr.hum.ku.dk


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LENA BJERREGAARD

Studied American Indian Languages and Cultures at the University

of Copenhagen and later became a textile conservator educated at

the School of Conservation in Copenhagen with special focus on

archaeological textiles. She worked for 15 years in the Ethnological

Museum in Berlin and was responsible for the large collection ofpreColumbian textiles. She is now at DNRF’s Centre for Textile

Research working as a guest researcher.

HEADWEAR 11

Tall hat with mosaic of blue, red and yellow Ara feathers. Tapiragedfeathers in the feather fans. Turban in the fancy, new discontinuous

cotton weave. Peru, south coast, 1000-1400 AD.

A descreet, pastel hat with a Flamingofeather fan, adorning a discontinuous cotton weave

turban. Peru, south coast, 1000-1400 AD.

JARGON busterTapirage : natural changing of the colour of a bird, by pullingout original feathers and rubbing alternate colour into thefeather holes. The new feathers will grow out in mixed,diferent colours.Discontiniuous weave: a weaving set up with the warp and weft consisting of various sections across the weaving.


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12 HEADWEAR

King Tut’s

Thanks to the golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun, who

ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC, the nemes is one of the most easily

recognizable royal headdresses of Egyptian pharaohs.

The nemes is a blue-striped rectangular handwoven linen cloth, which

often covered the pharaoh’s crown and back of the head. It was usually

made sturdy by a band of hard material (e.g. leather) located between

the forehead and the nemes itself to prevent damage to the cloth. Only

the lappets were pleated, never the head or the wings. Wearing itmarked the conclusion of earthly life and the beginning of life hereafter.

Wearing the nemes as part of the royal regalia is attested as far back

as the 3rd dynasty. This tradition was not broken until the last (32nd)

dynasty starting with Ptolemy and ending with Cleopatra. Despite not

being native Egyptians, the Ptolemies strove not to break with tradition

and continued to be represented donning the pharaonic royal insignia.

Golden funeral mask of Tutankhamun(1361-1352 BC) wearing the nemes headdress.

The forehead bears the emblem of kingship: the

protective uraeus (royal cobra).

Egptian Museum, Cairo.Wikimedia Commons.

Back of Tutanhkamun’s maskdepicting the pharaoh wearing the nemes tied

together in a braid with gold rings. The number

of rings corresponds to the age of the deceased.

King Tut died at 19.Wikimedia Commons

headscarf


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MARIA PAPADOPOULOU

is a Marie Curie postdoc fellow at the DNRF’s Centre for Textile

Research, Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen. She received

her Ph.D. from the University of Athens on the “Semantics of Colour

Terms in Hellenistic Poetry“. Her current research focuses on

the history of textiles in Ptolemaic Egypt, especially the use of the

chlamys cloak in Hellenistic Alexandria. Her research interestsinclude the history of the Greek language, the modern reception of

classical tradition, and the history of gender in antiquity.

HEADWEAR 13

Life-sized head of Ptolemy II a Greek-Egyptian pharaoh of the last (32nd) dynasty, wearing

the nemes headdress. Date: 280 BC.

From the Nile Delta, Egypt.

The Walters Museum, Baltimore. Acquired by Henry Walters, 1924.

Accession no. 22.109


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14 BEAUTY

The new touch at your toilette

One of the many innovations of modern times to enhance personal

beauty is the patch. A patch is a small bit of prepared gummed silk

taffeta or black velvet that women, and men, put on their faces in order

to hide some imperfection or to simply embellish their skin and to make

their complexion appear whiter.

The great rage of the era, in a country governed by the laws of gallantry,

the patch tempts the onlooker and gives the face a unique expression.

Placed close to the eye, is “the passionate one”; at the corner of the

mouth, “the strumpet”; upon the lip, “the coquette”; on the nose “the

shameless”; on the forehead, “the majestic”; in the middle of the cheek,

“the gallant” and those placed in the crease of the cheek when one

laughed was “the light-hearted.” Yet others are called “the discreet”

and “the virtuous”. The size of the patch can vary according to the

desired effect: “Those that are cut lengthwise are called assassins”.

The beauty patch

18 th-century PatchboxProfessionals are responsible for creating these devices

of beauty and seduction. Copyright reserved, France,

private collection.


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CORI NNE THÉPAUT-CABAS SET

Art historian specialising in decorative arts, fashion and textile2015-17 Marie Curie Research Fellow at SAXO Institute/DNRF’s

Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen

BEAUTY 15

Le Matin. La dame à sa toileteThe patch completes the toilette, as it is

“the finishing touch of one’s toilette”.

It gives the face a unique expression.

Print made by Gilles-Edmé Petit (1694-1760)

after a painting by François Boucher

(1703-1770).London, The British Museum,

Prints and Drawings, n° 1873,0712.272

Image reference: AN362479001

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Patches are available at various prices, for all types ofpeople, and for several diferent reasons: to soften the

eyes, to beautify the face or to be placed on the forehead or

on the breast. Copyright reserved, France, private collection.


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16 POETRY

Divine Nuptials

What might a wedding party among the Olympian Gods have looked like in ancient

Greece? The wedding of King Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, in both iconographic

and poetic accounts, hosts an impressive procession of gods: among them, in thefamous François Vase, the Fates (Moirai) stand out for their extremely fashionable

pattern-woven peploi. In particular, one of them wears a figured peplos with in-woven

friezes that feature mirror-images of the vase’s main frieze, thus reduplicating

the pictorial motif in an endless Chinese box. Turning from visual art to poetic and

musical performance, a similar multiplying effect is produced in a lyric account of

the divine wedding feast for Peleus and Thetis: in a poem by Pindar* the Muses sing

and dance accompanied by Apollo on the lyre, and their choral performance leads the

celebration of the wedding party. Pindar’s poem was itself a choral song performedby a dancing chorus: the chorus of the Muses is thus a performance within a

performance, which mirrors the choral dancing of the performance of Pindar’s

poem and creates a duplicating and amplifying effect – similar, again, to the pictorial

motifs on the Muses’ clothes in the François Vase.

Gladly did that fairest chorus of the Muses

sing for those men on Pelion, while in their midst

Apollo swept his seven-tongued lyre

with a golden plectrum,

and led them in tunes of all kind. And, after a prelude

to Zeus, they first sang of august Thetis and Peleus …

*Nemean Ode 5. 22-26

In his fifth Nemean Ode, an ode composed for

athletic victory at the Panhellenic festival of Nemeain Greece, Pindar described the choral performance

of the Muses at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

à la Chinoise


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GIOVANNI FANFANI

Classical Philologist, Postdoc,DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen,

Greek literature and philology.

POETRY 17

On the main frieze on the shoulderof the vase, a parade of gods celebrating

the wedding of Peleus and Thetis features

the Muses at its centre. Krater of

Kleitias and Ergotimos, Florence Museo

Archeologico Nazionale, 4209 (the so-called

François-Vase), drawing from Furtwängler

and Reichhold 1904, pl. 3.

Courtesy of The Royal Library/Copenhagen

University Library, Classical Archaeolog

Division.

The Fates (Moirai) wearing pattern- woven peploi. The second Moira from the left

wears a figured peplos with friezes of chariots.

From the Krater of Kleitias and Ergotimos,

Florence Museo Archeologico Nazionale, 4209

(the so-called François-Vase), drawing from

Furtwängler and Reichhold 1904, pl. 1,

Courtesy of The Royal Library/Copenhagen

University Library, Classical Archaeolog Division.

Muses


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18 ACCESSOR IES

Accessory to Murder Herodotos on

Greek Female Dress

Some changes in clothing and dress are more peculiar and

radical than others. The Greek historian Herodotos tells an

extraordinary story of why the women of Athens changed

their dress from the traditional peplos, which was fastened

with clothing pins, to the chiton, which was not.

The abysmal defeat of Athens in a war left only a single

Athenian survivor, one who was not warmly greeted upon

his return home. The wives of the other men thought it

terrible that he alone had survived and stabbed him to

death with their clothing pins. The Athenians thought the

actions of the women even more gruesome than the fateof the campaign, but had no other way of punishing them

than to change their dress. To deprive the Athenian women

of the peplos, left the women of Athens unable to wear the

garment most closely associated with their patron goddess.

There are problems with Herodotos’ account, but his

readers would presumably have found it plausible, as a

number of ancient Greek laws regulating dress are known.

Rather than being dismissed for its imprecision, the storyshould be seen as a testimony to the role of clothing in

ancient Greek legislation.

Herodotos 5.87-88

Athenian clothing pins Jacobsthal, P. (1956), Greek Pins

and their Connexions with Europe

and Asia, Oxford, pl. 12.


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PEDER FLEMES TAD

Classical Philologist, MA,DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen.

Ancient terminology and dialectology.

ACCESSOR IES 19

Peplos with pinsPekridou-Gorecki, A. (1989), Mode im

antiken Griechenland, C.H. Beck, 79.

ChitonPekridou-Gorecki, A. (1989), Mode im

antiken Griechenland, C.H. Beck, 73.


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20 KNITT ING

A very worn example of a baby´s waistcoat was thrown out inGroningen (Netherlands) sometime

between 1577 and 1600. English

family accounts show Frances (five

months) and Temperance Cavendish

(three months) wore knete waste cotes

each costing 3s 2d in 1548/9 (about

DKK 500 today).

The reconstructed waistcoat is an exampleof collaborative work at the

Centre for Textile Research

(CTR), where guidelines on

good practice in experimentalarchaeology were published

in 2014.

Woolly

warmthfor wee ones


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JANE MALC OLM-DAVIES

is co-director of the successful publishing partnership The Tudor

Tailor . This collaborative team researches and retails resources for

accurate reconstructions of 16th-century dress. Jane is currently a

Marie Curie Fellow at the DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research in

Copenhagen, where she is researching the knitting revolution in

northern Europe in the early modern era. She has a doctorate in

heritage management, a postgraduate diploma in law, lectures inentrepreneurship and can turn her hand to most things, including

shearing sheep.

KNITT ING 21

This sad effigy of Mogens Gøie from about 1590 at Gunderslev Church,

Skelby (Denmark) inspired the re-creation of a knitted waistcoat suitable

for a swaddled baby in the 1500s. A picture like this helps make an accurate

reconstruction when cross-referenced with archaeological and documentary

evidence. Danish researchers located and photographed baby Mogens for a

book which helps people create historical clothes.

Instructions for making the waistcoat are in The TudorChild (2013)


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22 ART

Wrapped with

t e x t i l e s

Shematic representation of tablet weaving for the

construction of a band. Drawing: Lise Ræder Knudsen.

An outstanding vase was found during the excavations at Dimini, Central Greece,

in the beginning of the 20th century. It was found in the ruins of a house destroyed

in the 5th mill. BCE. The vase, probably used as a luxury water jar, is decorated

with polychrome patterns, a characteristic feature for this late phase of theNeolithic period.

The elaborate arrangement of the patterns is the most striking feature of this

vase. It consists of eight wide bands that cover the entire upper half of the

vessel and they are placed on each other in three layers. They are made up of

fine parallel lines running along their length with the two edged lines being

thicker, reminding us strongly of textile bands made with the technique of tablet

weaving. Although this is only an interpretation and indirect evidence for textile

artifacts, it enables us to track the existence of a well-defined weaving technique

in the Neolithic Aegean, while it supports the idea of interpreting some Neolithic

pottery ornaments as textile patterns. As it has been often argued, textiles

inspired potters, who transferred some techniques of textile crafts visually onto

their earthenware products.


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KALLIOPE SARRI

Prehistorian, PhD.Marie Curie Fellow at the DNRF’s Centre for

Textile Research, University of Copenhagen.

ART 23

A decorated Polychrome jarinspired by textiles from Dimini, Central

Greece. The way in which the decoration

covers the vase, as if various bands were

placed across each other, attempting to depict

a flat, three-dimensional structure, makes the

vase appear as strapped with crossed textile

bands. Below them some free-standing

motifs also remind us of threadwork.

Athens National Museum.

Textile bands woven with the tablet- or card- weaving method. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

File:Ramshornthree.jpg#filelinks, uploaded by Cynthia

M. Parkhill.


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24 CRAFT

Isodikes’

A curious thing about archaic Greece is that inanimate objects « spoke » thanks to the new

alphabet invented around the 9th century BC.

Loom weights are very common among textile tools and artefacts surviving from the 6th century

BC. They are usually clay, and although their shapes and weights vary, there are always holes

through which the warp threads pass. Their crucial function was to put tension on the loom

threads. These weights were everyday, ordinary objects in ancient times. One of them is

particularly surprising: «Isodikes’ loom weight». It is a clay pyramidal example from Siris dated

to the early 6th century BC. A painted alphabetic inscription in the first person reads: ISODIKÊ

EMI, «I am Isodikes». This extraordinary speaking object says in the written message that it was

a gift or identif ies its owner – or both. Isodikes’ loom weight speaks in writing telling us about a

Greek woman and weaver called Isodikes. The loom weight vividly reveals a fragment of her life

and work.

Skyphos with Penelopeand Telemachus at theloom from Chiusi, ca 460-430BC, E.Broudy, The book of looms,

University Press of New England,

Hanover (1979).

loom weight


27/36

FLAVIA CARRA RO

PhD, anthropologist, ethnologist,

Marie Curie Fellow at the DNRF’sCentre for Textile Research,

University of Copenhagen.

CRAFT 25

Women weaving on a warp- weighted loom Greek lekythos, ca 560 BC.

E. Broudy, The book of looms, University

Press of New England, Hanover (1979).

Clay loom weight Clay loom weight with painted

inscription from Siris, 575 BC ? L.H.

Jefery, The local scripts of Archaic

Greece, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1963);

Pl.54.1.


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26 GARDENING

Similar to the well-known French Festival du

Lin in Normandy, is a little known one in the

Italian village of Campotosto where Assunta

Perilli sews science into her work with linen.

Assunta is an enterprising craftswoman as well

as an archaeologist. She follows the entire flax

supply-chain: from the sowing of flax seeds to the

processing of the vegetal fibre to yarn making.

She interviewed older women and got samples of

the flaxseed that ‘grannies’ (as she likes to call

them) have sown for time immemorial.

Since 2002, when May arrives, a bucket of flax

seed and a pair of gardening boots are put behind

the door of Assunta’s workshop, ready for the f irst

phase, the sowing.

This year tradition and the world of textile

archaeology and experimental archaeology have

been twisted together. The gestures used with

traditional tools may seem obvious at first, but

their work generates questions that need scientificanswers. It’s a big challenge. So, we decided to

start over, beginning with the seed.

The “Festival du Lin”

I n I t a l y t o o

Sowing flax in a field in La Macchiola, nearLake Campotosto, at the foot of Mount Gran

Sasso, Abruzzo National Park.

Flax in flower


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ROMINA LAURITO

Archaeologist, PhD.

Marie Curie Fellow at DNRF’s Centre for

Textile Research, University of CopenhagenInterests: textile tools and production, museology, communication,

experimental archaeology.

GARDENING 27

Removing the seed

from the flax capsules.

The flax at the beginningof September.The plant flowered and the seed

capsules are beginning to form.

The Flax capsulesbefore removingseeds.


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28 LANGUAGE

“ A b a c a ”a search in textilnet.dk ”Abaca” is the first entry in a database created by The Costume Group, a museum network

in Denmark. Textilnet.dk is a one-stop shop for terminology essential to fabric and clothing

researchers. Abaca is also know as hemp, banana f ibre, manila hemp, Siam hemp and abaka.

These many alternatives help the reader picture the fabric even without photographs or

illustrations – banana and hemp are well-known words, and place names such as Manila and

Siam help locate it globally. Abaca is an example of a material, which is a first level category

in textile.net. Other levels of meaning may be consulted – for example, dyeing today still uses

words from the 17th century. Literary references to dress terms from several languages such as

French and German are also included, which demonstrate similarities between cultures and how

terms travelled through trade. Abaca is just one of the exotic fibres, costumes and accessories in

the database. Enjoy an online tour through textilnet.dk’s terms and imagine the visual treats of

trade through the centuries.

Abaca - the planta species of banana


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SUSA NNE LERVAD

Terminologist, PhD, Visiting scholar at DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research.

Specialist in professional Textile communication.

LANGUAGE 29

Abaca f ibre prep arat ion

Abaca f iber drying in Abaca farm, Costa Rica

All images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Musa_textilis

Abaca sl ippers


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30 STYLES

Elegance with a twistMarie-Louise Nosch looks

chic in her two-part black

and white silky dress. Theblack ribbon on the top part

of the dress gives it an edge.

The pleats on the lower part

of the dress gives the gar-

ment an extra dimension.

Marie-Louise has styled

the outfit with golden hoop

earrings and a simple loose

coifure.

It’s all about colourLuise Ørsted Brandt looks

stunning in her green knee-

length dress. At a time wheremany Danes choose to wear

black, Luise bravely wears

colour. This is a breath of

fresh air. Luise has styled

the dress with nude coloured

high heels and a white bead

necklace.

C T R

F a s h i o n At CTR, it is all about fashion and glamour.

This month’s outfits are from our very own

Egzona’s wedding.

Dress of the month!Egzona Haxha looks amazing in her white wedding dress

with a mermaid cut. The beading on the top part of the dress

gives it an elegance and graciousness. Egzona has styled the

dress with diamond earrings and a doughnut hairstyle.


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CAMILLA ELISABETH S ØGAARD EBERT

Master of Arts in Ancient Archaeology

Administrator at DNRF’s Centre for Textile Research

Occasional fashion correspondantInterests: Greece; Bronze Age; Crete; Seals;

Sealings; Textile; Textile Tools; Gender

STYLES 31

High heels or flats!Line Lerke wears a simple

black dress but has spiced it

up with black patent leathershoes. This gives the outfit

an edge and a masculine

touch. Line has styled the

dress with black stockings

and a messy bun that

completes the look.

Ribbons, Ribbons,Ribbons!Sidsel Frisch has been crea-

tive and added an orange rib-bon to her gray knee-length

dress. This proves that you

don’t always need a stylish

belt. Sidsel has accessorized

the dress with black stock-

ings, metal bracelets and a

braded coifure.

P for patternLouise Ludvigsen is wearing

a 50s inspired dress with

an intricate pattern. Thecombination of the green

dress and her red curly hair

makes her look exquisite.

She has styled the dress

with black stockings and a

silver bracelet.

Black never gets oldCamilla Ebert is wearing

a long black slim dress. It

shows that black never goesout of fashion. The dress

has a twist with a long slit

on the left side. Camilla has

accessorized the dress with

brown high heels, a long

silver necklace and a classic

high coifure.


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32 HOL IDAY CARDS

2007

Eight yearsof good wishes

2008

2009

2010


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201 1

2012

20 13

2014HOL IDAY CARDS 33


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